GRANTS, N.M. — Adrian Ortega and Bryan Hernandez both attended Grants High School, played for the Pirate football team, and have gone on to play college football. Returning home for winter break, they decided they wanted to stay active and give back to the program that they said was important in their football journey.
Ortega graduated from GHS with the Class of 2020 and earned a scholarship to play football for the University of Jamestown in North Dakota as a wide receiver. He is now a sophomore in college and is pursuing a major in Business Administration, with a minor in Marketing and another minor in Information Technology.
Ortega reflected on his experience with college football thus far, saying, “College football is a lot different than high school football; college football is more like a job. There is a lot of meetings and watching film on every practice. We sometimes have homework on new plays and formation. It’s a great experience all around but you really have to want to play football to enjoy it.” Playing at the next level was adream of Ortega’s since he was younger, and the people who told him he couldn’t do it or that it was impossible only made his motivation to make it happen even stronger, said Ortega.
As for Hernandez, he graduated from Grants High School with the Class of 2021 and he received a scholarship to play football at Gavilan College in California as a slot receiver. Hernandez is a college freshman and is planning to pursue a degree in Kinesiology in order to one day become an athletic trainer. Hernandez too said that playing football at the next level was always a dream of his and that it was watching his brother play when he was younger that sparked that desire. Hernandez’s brother, Brandon Hernandez, is the current head coach of the Grants Pirates football team. Hernandez shared some similar differences between high school football and college football, adding that he has experienced a much faster pace of play than when he was in high school, but that he has also “improved tremendously” and was able to adapt after a few games. Wanting to stay on top of their health and progress during the winter break, Ortega and Hernandez decided to meet up with each other throughout their winter break to work on speed drills, footwork, and competition training. They also decided that they wanted to extend an invite to current high school football players so that they could gain from the extra practice and mentorship as well.
“Me and Bryan already knew we were going to train together when we came back for winter break, but we wanted to include any other football players or just athletes that wanted some extra work because we both knew that there [are] always the kids that want to do more and just be better because we were those kids in high school and nobody ever gave us those opportunities. So we just wanted to give these kids what we desired when we were there age,” said Ortega.
Hernandez agreed, adding, “We just want to see the young high school football players blossom into their full potential, so we wanted to share knowledge that we have learned along the way of our own football journeys to try and help improve their games. They already had the talent there; we were just trying to lead them in the right direction.”
Ortega and Hernandez met up with each other and some younger players for focused trainings Monday through Friday their entire winter break and even met some Saturdays for some more relaxed, “fun” trainings. About three young athletes attended the trainings consistently, and Hernandez and Ortega said they were grateful for the opportunity to work with them. Ortega and Hernandez also expressed their gratitude for the Angry Jack football program and the role it played in their football journeys. Both athletes played under previous head coach Rio Thompson in 2019 when the Grants Pirates made it to the semifinals in the 2019 NMAA 4A State Football Playoffs, losing by seven points in a heartbreaker to the Bloomfield Bobcats. Looking back on his time with the Pirates, Ortega said, “I owe a lot to Angry Jack football… I still carry Angry Jack pride with me to this day and itgives me a great sense of pride knowing that I can carry that title with me to other states and put our little town on the map, not only for me, but for all the other players that will come out of Grants wanting to play at the next level.”
The two college athletes also had some words of advice to share for current high school football players or athletes who are also motivated to play at the next level. “What I can say to the younger high school football players is that size doesn’t matter,” stated Hernandez. “Me and Adrian are two completely different builds. To make it to the next level, it takes a lot of belief in yourself and heart. You have to make an effort, be the hardest worker in the room at all times, and be willing to sacrifice free time for practice.” Ortega added, “I would tell other young players to not listen to the haters and always put in the hard work because it pays off. Like Coach Rio used to tell me all the time, ‘Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.’ I would also tell them to cherish the friendships that you make on that field because those are bonds that will last a lifetime.” Ortega and Hernandez will make their way back to North Dakota and California soon, but are grateful they had the opportunity to return home, mentor some young athletes, and they are each looking forward to seeing what Angry Jack football does this offseason and the upcoming football season in the Fall.